Ignocentia
by xxx-angelin-xxx
Summary: Rose Weasley’s and Scorpius Malfoy’s relationship was never easy. It wasn’t just their families they had to face. It was also themselves…


**Ignoscentia**

Rose Weasley's and Scorpius Malfoy's relationship was never easy. It wasn't just their families they had to face. It was also themselves…

Both Gryffindors, in their first year they became friends.

Both Heads, in their seventh year they fell in love.

But it wasn't that simple to tell each other. Their friendship was very important to both, too important to risk losing each other. So they continued denying their feelings, trying to move on.

* * *

One day fate played an unfair game on them, leaving them both slightly confused and upset about their relationship. They were friends for years and they trusted each other, but those were exactly the two facts that led to great awkwardness between them.

.

.

They were both in the common room, studying for the following day. When Scorpius would take his eyes from his work to look at her, he would see her absently biting her bottom lip in concentration. He would smile and return to his papers. But Rose's thoughts weren't on Potions, Transfiguration or Spells, as he thought.

Scorpius was pretty much taken aback when he heard her asking him; "Smith or Boot?"

"Errr, what?" he asked, distracted from his books.

She looked at him impatiently. "Smith or Boot?"

He was puzzled for a second. Anthony Smith was Hufflepuff's seeker this year and Jason Boot was Ravenclaw's seeker from the year before. Was Rose actually asking him about Quidditch? A seeker himself, he was considered the best when compared to those two.

"Me, baby."

It was Rose's turn to be taken aback. "What…?" she managed to whisper after a moment, in which she had been looking at him with her mouth wide open.

"Ok, it's not exactly what you asked and it's not grammatically right correct, but I couldn't expect you would be that upset. Or was it the 'baby' that annoyed you? And since when you are interested in quidditch?"

"Qu_idditch?" she faltered.

Scorpius closed his eyes. "You weren't talking about quidditch, right?"

"No." she answered, collecting herself.

"Right."

After a moment of abashed silence in which they were both trying to avoid each other's eyes, Scorpius said with certainty; "Smith."

She turned to him and smiled thankfully while her eyes were warm again, smiling too. This was an image he wanted to keep for ever; Rose smiling at him and for a moment he wondered why he had said Smith and not 'me' again. But that was just a fleeting thought before he was back to reality again: in which Rose turned to her books and he went back to his transfiguration essay.

* * *

Rose Weasley and Anthony Smith started dating.

But it didn't last long. After all it couldn't.

.

.

Scorpius had just returned to his dormitory after a very tiring Quidditch practice. All he wanted was to have a shower and fall into bed: he had an important match the following day.

He quickly climbed the stairs, but when he got to the floor where their rooms were, he saw light coming from Rose's room. He wasn't surprised; he was used to Rose staying up late reading even if there were days until she had to turn in her essay. She truly was an annoying know-it-all!

Scorpius smiled and headed to her room, so he could say goodnight. He pushed the door lightly and what he saw did surprised him; she wasn't reading. She wasn't even writing. She wasn't sleeping or resting.

Rose was just sitting there, with books open in front her, starring at the wall in front of her. Her expression didn't show tiredness, desperation or worry; it wasn't even blank like it usually is when people stare at a wall for no reason. It was a mix of skepticism and determination.

"Umm… Rosie…?" he questioned. She turned to him cheerfully. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." she answered with a hint of disappointment in her voice. "I was just thinking."

She didn't look willing to tell him more. After all those years he could tell from the tone of her voice.

So he sat at her bed and decided to change the subject; Scorpius Malfoy didn't need a Weasley outburst at the moment.

"Any news? I had quite a tiring practice today, but tomorrow we are going to kick the Slytherins out of the pitch. I can guarantee that. The first match of the season is ours!" he stated with certainty.

She smiled happily; "So… we are going to have a party tomorrow… Nice job, Malfoy"

"Thanks, Weasley." he answered back with the same competitive tone in his voice that hers had before. "Is Smith coming to congratulate me?" he continued.

"I don't think so." she continued smiling.

"Why not? He wouldn't leave such a beautiful girl to go alone to a party with so many guys?" he teased her.

She giggled. "Two reasons; you grabbed the snitch under his nose last year, so he doesn't like you that much… and we broke it off."

"You did?" he said quite surprised. "I'm sorry…" he added, looking at her carefully.

"I'm not." she stated, serious for the first time that night.

He nodded. "I should be going. I have an important game tomorrow…"

"Sure… I can't keep the top seeker, out of bed before his big day." She mocked.

"Well, you can keep me out of bed any time you want."

She shook her head, laughing. "Get out, Malfoy!" she exclaimed, pushing him from the room.

.

.

Gryffindor did win the game. And the preparation for the party started.

.

.

"So… how do I look?" Rose asked him, when she saw him.

He shook his head, searching for the right words. It's hard to tell you best- friend how beautiful she looks when you have a secret crush on her. "Great."

"Really?" she asked, turning to the mirror. "You don't think this dress makes my legs look too fat?" her voice had a playful tone as she wore a similar expression on her face.

Scorpius smirked. Rose was never obsessed with her looks. Always full of self-confidence, she knew exactly how pretty she was. She was just playing games with him.

"Seriously, dear, I believe that you are fishing for compliments."

"So? I just want to know how I look…" she said innocently.

"You are beautiful and you know it." He told her, scanning her from tip to toe.

"Oh and that's bad?" she raised an eyebrow.

Scorpius laughed at her confidence. "No. But you know if you could pretend you weren't aware of your beauty, you would look much more innocent." he stated.

She chuckled. "Funny…"

They remained silent for a while, looking at each other, challenging themselves and each other to speak.

After a while, Rose averted her eyes and made a step towards the door. "Let's go." she murmured.

Scorpius looked at her once again and realized that this was his chance. He didn't stop to think about it. He just felt the urge to say it and he did.

"I think I'm in love with you."

Rose stopped at the door and turned to him. "I'm pretty certain."

Slowly, he moved his face closer to hers. She was just starring into his eyes and he starred back as her eyes lowered to his lips. He kissed her softly and she slowly brought her hands to his face, her fingers to his hair, closing her eyes as he pulled her closer to him, bringing his hands to her waist.

He pulled back after a while and looked at her, still close in distance. She looked back at him and teased him in a low voice, always smiling:

"I guess… you are not going to that party."

* * *

"You slept with her."

Her voice was indifferent. Like she was announcing something as boring as a homework assignment. She was looking at him, not with desperation but with certainty.

"I didn't."

He had realized what this was about the moment she took out the letter. They were cuddling on the couch, laughing, when the owl came. She had gotten up to read it. When she opened the folder her expression went from happy to blank. When she took her eyes off it and looked at his, dropping the photo at the floor, he saw a big why in her gaze. He had no idea why.

"Really?" he could tell she was losing her self- control. Her tone was growing colder. "Then what's that?" she almost screamed, gesturing to the photo, close to hysterics.

"I just kissed her." She made a sound close to a barking laugh.

"I was drunk and I had no idea what I was doing and she came to me and then somehow I was on the bed with her… I swear, I haven't done anything, when I realized what I was doing, I…"

"You still cheated on me. Or at least… tried." In the same clipped tone... this was getting bad.

"I…" he tried to defend himself.

"Wasn't I good enough for you? You had to go to your ex- girlfriend, to that slut… f…f..for… what?" she looked like she had more to say but her voice broke and she was shaking.

He made a step closer to her, he tried to touch her but she pulled away.

"Get out of here. We are done. For good!" she said with determination as she ran to her bedroom.

He tried to follow her but then realized he had nothing to say. He couldn't explain. He was in love with her, he loved her, he cared for her for years but still… that wasn't enough.

That night she was very sick. Gryffindor had won another game, this time against Ravenclaw. He went to the party and found Janice vanMiller, his ex- girlfriend. One of many. They had too much to drink, had danced and then they had ended up on the bed. If she hadn't dropped wine on him by mistake he had no idea what he would have done.

.

.

When she was safely inside her room and he was far behind, only then did Rose Weasley let the tears burst out. She fell down on the floor and cried hard.

At such times, Scorpius would come and comfort her, always making her feel better. But this time he didn't. After all, for the first time in 7 years, it was his fault.

* * *

"I can't understand what went wrong. We were great together. I thought he loved me and… yes, Lily, we slept together." Rose exclaimed, looking angrily at her cousin.

"I haven't said anything!" the other girl protested.

"I can tell by your look."

The two cousins were walking towards the Great Hall for dinner. Usually they didn't talk much at school but the events of the past days had brought them closer.

"Anyway, Rose, it's been 2 weeks. Forgive him or get over it." she gave a cautious glance at her cousin. "Don't even think of the first!"

"I wouldn't…" Rose tried to disagree.

"Yeah, well."

They remained silent for a while, until Lily started laughing loudly.

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"Nothing… I was just thinking… I never imagined that this would happen to you of all people. The completely bad girl driven in the corner from the completely bad boy. It's funny if you consider it that way." Well, Rose and Scorpius might have been studious but that never stopped them from being mean people to others.

"Yeah, hahaha, very funny Lil."

.

.

He had won another game. Not on his own of course. Gryffindor had beat Hufflepuff. And he had no one to celebrate with.

Scorpius Malfoy was going to the Great Hall for dinner, when he heard someone calling his name. He turned to see Anthony Smith, the opposing seeker, staring at him angrily.

He smirked, before challenging him:

"What's wrong Smith? Came to congratulate me?"

"What for, Malfoy? If it wasn't for the sun then I'd won." Smith said bitterly.

"Really? How would you have done that? By squealing at someone?" he mocked, making the Hufflepuff even more enraged than before. "Everyone knows that the only thing you are capable of doing is squealing and not being a seeker!" he continued. "You are too bad even for a Slytherin, so you ended up in Hufflepuff?"

He knew he was wrong. At the exact moment the words were spilling from his mouth, he knew he had to shut it up.

But he didn't. He was too angry with himself to think logically, too alone to be really happy and Rose had been flirting with Smith the past few weeks without saying a word to him. Too much to be nice. Besides, Smith was looking for a fight.

Scorpius, only then, realized that he had fallen into the trap, he could tell from the suddenly pleased expression on the other guy's face.

Anthony snorted. "You think you are too good for the rest of the world, Malfoy, don't you? It's a bit ironic, don't you think? You, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, Draco Malfoy's son, Lucius Malfoy's grandson, the one whose family were Death Eaters, whose father killed Dumbledore, to consider yourself above others."

Scorpius tried to murmur something, tried to defend himself but Smith spoke again.

"Seven years aren't enough to fool someone Malfoy… even Rose realized what a piece of scum you are. That you are a Gryffindor, a top seeker or the Head Boy… it doesn't change who you are: a Malfoy."

.

.

He hadn't come to diner. Not that she should care. Lily had realised she was looking for Scorpius, and spent all night making sure Rose understood why she should never talk to him again.

But now she was alone in her bed, it was cold and she missed him. A lot. As a friend too. And he wasn't even there. Midnight came and went and he still was not in the his room.

Coming back from dinner she had seen him in the hall. He was paler than usual and looked pretty lost. That wasn't normal. Gryffindor had just won a major game against Hufflepuff. He should have been happy and partying with the rest of the team. But Lily left her no time to ask why he wasn't.

She didn't worry about the rules. They broke them all time and they were very good at not getting caught. That's why they were Heads. She was neither worried about who he was with. But she really cared about what was wrong with him.

.

.

"Rosie… are you sleeping?" he whispered.

She turned to the door, half- awake. "No." she murmured, trying to see him under the room's dubious lighting.

He swallowed. "Can I come in?"

"Yes."

He wasn't expecting that. Slowly moving, he approached the bed. Rose looked at him carefully, before inviting him to lay next to her, with a slow movement.

He rested next to her shyly, till she moved closer and hugged him. He held her tight unsure of what that meant.

"So won't you tell me what's wrong?" she asked, quite amused for some strange reason.

"Your ex- boyfriend is an asshole." He murmured.

Rose laughed. "Well, you chose him." she joked.

Smirking, he continued in the same tone; "I thought he was your type."

"Yeah, I'm pretty attracted to assholes…"

He laughed, a brittle laugh, sounding almost pained. "Right."

She smiled. "Won't you tell me what happened? Or if I can do anything for you to feel better?" she almost challenged him, turning over and starring at him.

"Hey, hey, hey!" he complained. "I have issues and you are totally in your own world!" he said almost seriously.

She smiled innocently, faking regret. "Ok, sorry!"

Scorpius snorted and turned his head to the side.

She noticed how tired and sad he looked. "Seriously, Scorp, what's wrong? I'm worried."

"Nothing, it's just…" he started without knowing how to continue.

"It's just what?" she insisted.

He stood up, worried. "Rose, do you think I'm a bad person?"

She laughed, surprised. "What?"

"I'm not kidding… Seriously… do you think… I'm like my father? How they say he was…" the words were hard to get off his tongue. He was so afraid of her answer, afraid she would tell him that yes, he was awful.

But Rose stood up and turned his head to look at her, staring intently into his eyes.

"I'm gonna kill Smith."

Scorpius sighed. "Rose…" he said.

She shook her head, trying to relax. Obviously annoyed, she interrupted him.

"You are a Gryffindor. A prefect. The Head Boy. The best student in our year. Stuff it, Malfoy!" she said when he tried to protest. "And yet, you are right. Those are not enough to make someone a good person."

She paused and looked down at him but he didn't speak waiting for her to continue.

"No one has uttered a bad word about you that didn't have to do with your family. The first time I saw you my father pointed you out as Malfoy's son and told me to stay away. But then we became best friends. Do you think that I would ever disagree with dad and risk thousands of arguments and beefs for nothing? Me?" she stopped to breathe and when she continued her voice was much calmer. "You are a great guy, Scorp. Everyone admires you." She sighed and then smirked. "And as for the manipulating and plotting… I've done it too"

Scorpius starred at her. She was on her knees, next to him and was smiling kindly. He had been an arse to ever hurt that girl.

"I love you." he told her. "And I'm sorry."

She starred at him, leaning closer to him. "I know." she murmured, before giving him a sweet, almost chaste kiss.

He kissed her back, deepening the kiss. One hand at her waist, he pulled her even closer to him, holding her tight. The other hand caressing her hair and her cheek, realizing how much he had missed her.

After a while she pulled back, breathing hard she pressed her forehead against his.

"And you are forgiven."

* * *

**Reviews make me smile:)**

***"Ingocentia" is latin for forgiveness.**


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